PHOENIX — Coming off a quarter when the company sold 2
percent more vehicles, DriveTime Automotive Group recently opened its newest
store, branching deeper into Georgia.

DriveTime's newest location is located at 5935 Veterans
Parkway in Columbus, Ga.

The company highlighted this dealership consists of more
than 5,300 square feet with the capacity to hold up to 80 vehicles on its lot.
The company already has a significant presence in Georgia with several
dealerships serving customers in Augusta, Atlanta and Savannah.

"Columbus is a very vibrant, growing community so we saw it
as a great fit for us as we grow each year," said Shawn Curran, Retail
Operations Specialist at DriveTime. "We are excited to have an opportunity to
contribute to the area's growth and development and enhancing consumers' car
buying experience."

The new store will be open from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. every
Monday through Saturday and closed on Sundays.

The new Georgia store likely will help DriveTime build on
its first-quarter performance.

The company reported that it sold 19,607 vehicles in Q1, a
2-percent increase above the first-quarter of last year.

DriveTime indicated that it originated $315 million of
finance receivables, an 8 percent increase over the first quarter of the prior
year.

Officials also highlighted subsidiary GO Financial
originated $39 million of dealer finance receivables in the quarter,
representing 5,027 contracts.

As a result of that activity, DriveTime expected total Q1 revenue
to be approximately $385 million, an increase of 5 percent compared to $368
million in the first quarter of 2012.

The company also projected adjusted EBITDA to range from $41
to $43 million, compared to $56 million in the first quarter of 2012.

DriveTime officials attributed the estimated decrease in
first quarter adjusted EBITDA to several reasons, including:

—IRS delays in processing income tax refunds, causing a
negative impact on the seasonal buying patterns of its customers.

—Higher net charge-offs related to loan performance and
lower recovery rates on repossessed vehicles due to a decline in wholesale
auction values.

—Higher retail operating expenses from new dealership
openings in the second half of 2012

—The effects of deferred service contract revenue in regions
where the company recently began offering a limited warranty as a separately
priced service contract.

"Excluding the effects of deferred service contract revenue,
we expect that Adjusted EBITDA would have ranged from $45 to $47 million for
our first quarter ended March 31, and total revenue would have been
approximately $390 million for the first quarter," DriveTime officials said.

Continue the conversation with SubPrime Auto Finance News on LinkedIn and Twitter.